Chief Minister Raman Singh on Tuesday expressed his deep satisfaction and happiness over Ninava Gram Panchayat in Raipur district achieving 'Open Defecation-free' (ODF) status. He congratulated the citizens of the village.
Panchayat Sarpanch Girendra Sahu led a delegation of villagers and met Singh and told him about Ninava Gram Panchayat in Raipur district becoming 'Open Defecation-free'.
The delegation had a detailed discussion over the developmental activities in the region. Ninava Gram Panchayat is the first to achieve the distinction in the district.
They achieved the feat in a record three-month duration, the delegation members informed.
The delegation members also informed the Chief Minister that it was a part of the Swachch Bharat Mission and was launched on March 11, last year. The village Sarpanch- panchs and villagers spread the awareness campaign by going from house-to-house.
The old method of defecation led to pollution of the atmosphere and spread of communicable diseases in the vicinity. The villagers were urged to construct private toilets and to put them to
use. They were updated on the clean surroundings around the water bodies like wells and hand-pumps.
Sahu said that the Gram Panchayats had a population of 2100 and 350 houses. Seventy-seven houses had own toilets earlier also. Rest of 234 toilets had been built in recent period by encouraging the villagers. The State Government provides Rs12,000 as financial assistance.
Some of the villagers spent about Rs45,000 from their pockets for constructing bigger toilets. The villagers were persuaded to make it a habit to use toilets.
The entire village had private toilets on May 29 and it was officially declared 'Open-Defecation free', the first gram panchayat in the entire district. The Anganwadi workers, literacy Mission instructors, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme helpers and others contributed a lot in making it a huge success.